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What do you think about AAVE-- African American Vernacular English, being used by white people?
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If the things you are saying do not match the expected contextual behaviour, then it is entirely reasonable and not racist at all that you are considered inappropriate for the position. As an example, if you are a melanistic individual and you go to an interview to become an astrophysicist, you are expected to speak in the way that astrophysicists speak, and not in AAVE or whatever racially-based label you want to apply to that sort of thing. This is not asking for "white" behaviour, this is asking for contextually appropriate behaviour.
As a teacher I am very aware that many of my students speak with a great deal of profanity and particular language quirks at home, but it is also a key point to teach that a person needs to know when and where a given dialect is appropriate, which is why we tell them to curb their language at school even though their language is just fine in other contexts they are involved in.
JSYK she/her pronouns!
@Samp: I believe that the term AAVE has been coined to describe a certain dialect. I do not believe it means that said dialect "belongs" to a specific kind of people.
Edited to clarify: No, I don't think they are flawed because they are expressions to describe a dialect, not the people using said dialect.
By the powers invested in me by the color of my skin... *eye roll*
@Samp: Like, I get that you mean well but your arguments in this thread have been pretty shallow. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your points but the fact of the matter is skin pigmentation should have no bearing on morality. It definitely does sound like a segregationists's argument... except there's a twist. Instead of going "That culture belongs over there. We don't want it! We're above it!" you're essentially saying, "That culture belongs over there. We're not worthy of it! We cannot take part in it! We can never join them cause...well...we don't have the same skin."
That's just...
As someone who is black, I want to say that I'm not bothered at all by anyone who uses "black words/culture" regardless of their skin color. For me, their intent matters most and not the word usage in of itself. I can understand those who are directly involved with racism or have a direct history getting offended or something because it can stir up some pretty bad memories and feelings but beyond that, unless they're using the words/culture to deliberately mock/harm/belittle/demean the people or promote racism...
@Haven Yeah, I'm doing the thing wrong then. Admittedly, this all spiraled way out of my hands and my responses could be a lot better. Sorry for doing that thing. I think the original things that spawned all of this (RE: shunt log) were in fact mocking and belittling, and my responses are directly related to that. My basis for this conversation has been assuming people are defending those clan tells, and I think those clan tells were inappropriate. I'm not here to unilaterally decide what's appropriate or inappropriate though I was doing that in earlier posts.
JSYK she/her pronouns!
Edit: I agree with Haven and Mephi, by the way. I'm just point this out.
JSYK she/her pronouns!
JSYK she/her pronouns!
JSYK she/her pronouns!
tl;dr Just because it originates from the term "Black English" doesn't mean a certain way of speaking belongs only to "Black people". It just describes the dialect.
@Ingram It wasn't Haven's arguments that made me apologize. I apologized for being an anti-black shit. That's the thing. He didn't change my opinions that yours and senwick's clan tells were unicornsed. I'm not going to apologize to Meph for that because it's not about him in the same way.
JSYK she/her pronouns!
Abhorash says, "Ve'kahi has proved that even bastards can earn their place."
Hey, I don't know you. You seem like an alright person, but I have noticed a very striking tendency to white knight these moral, social, cultural, whatever imbalances you think you see everywhere to an extent that just becomes ridiculous. I can't judge your life and what you've gone through, but I think there's a piece of you that makes you feel the need to stand up to this sort of injustice without ever actually stopping to think about whether or not you're being just a touch overzealous. It reminds me of a PETA extremist who is ready to cause harm to humans in order to protect the right of cows to not be eaten, or something.
Time and time again I have watched intelligent people put forth logical arguments backed with sound references only to have you utterly disregard them, while expecting them and everyone else to pay attention to -your- arguments and references. As if you hold a monopoly on being able to track down the only accurate and relevant pieces of literature out there.
Also, I read your counter to @aren at least 10 times, and still don't get it. I'm pretty sure the line dancing and hooting was given as an example of behavior and patterns that would be starkly different than what was expected of her. I'm not sure where "all of that Texas/Rancher stuff is a hugely borrowed culture from latinos" is relevant, or how that makes her argument a false equivalence.
My wife is half black, half Japanese, and 0% white, (I do gud math) and she literally rolled her eyes when I mentioned this thread and the comments you're making.
Now for my 2 cents into the argument itself, because why not.
In my experiences, people who imitate speech patterns in jest outnumber those do it with any sort of sincerity.
If you're talking about the second, eh. I might roll my eyes, shake my head, and question why, but it is what it is. I understand that my upbringing and my environment and any number of other factors make that my first reaction to hearing a white dude from Minnesota talk like a person raised in some ghetto of LA or Atlanta or wherever. Sure, maybe he was raised that way or maybe his family or the people in his neighborhood talked like that. Or maybe he just finished watching "Blood In, Blood Out" and really wants to try his hand in the thug scene. Ultimately, the problem isn't the way he's talking, and aside from maybe a sideways glance and an inclination to take my conversation elsewhere there is no harm, no foul.
If you're talking about the first, then you really just need to chill out. Most jokes are made at the expense of -somebody-. Just because we accept some of them to be less vitriolic or harmful, or more accepted, does not mean that somewhere, somebody wouldn't be offended. So what it boils down to is your context. It's just hilarious to make fun of rednecks and hillbillies, and I've lost count of the number of times I've heard the classic Asian accent jabs, even in text i.e. 'rub you, herro' (I use it, too. But I also speak an Asian language, understand the origin of it, and have an Asian wife who assures me it's quite alright) but the moment you dig into the sensitive topics.. someone comes along with a giant shining shield and an agenda to push.
I predict that if you keep this up, you're going to take the community's arguing your points as an insult or an offense to yourself, become jaded or bitter, and either quit or isolate yourself. That's just my prediction, though. I'd recommend relaxing a bit. I'm all for defending others, ( I do this for a living ) but as long as nobody is being hurt at the moment, why not let a group be offended for themselves, if they choose to be.
Long winded. It is 2 AM. My bad.
On a broader level, these sort of conversations aren't worth having on the Internet. In small groups, sure, and in person, yes. But on the Internet, it WILL end up a waste of time.
This last message is to anyone who felt even the slightest bit of attachment to this thread. If you feel the need to reply because someone said something dumb, or you thought the last response to what you said made you look bad, then stop - because no one really cares about it as much as you do. It's just entertainment for us. (Except I felt guilty so made this post.)
Good talk.
Good night.